Ab and kidney sizing, how tight / loose do you have it?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I'm done my build now, but I was curious what everyone does in terms of ab / kidney sizing. When I cut the excess of the kit down, I kind of left mine a bit bigger for safety, but I find that there's a ton of space inside, maybe even a little too much. Then again, I am a slimmer build (30.5" waist, 5'8" and about 145 lbs)

 

I may consider thinning down the ab / kidney area, (maybe remove an inch from each side of the torso) and maybe slimming down the thighs too.

I know this might not be an issue for those that need to shim, but more for the thinner guys / girls. The thing I notice in the original ANH pics is that the troopers look pretty thin. When I see the pictures taken of me, I look "bulky". That's the only way i can describe it.

 

How much space do you leave in the "gut" area?

[dougefresh]

I keep my suits really tight. Personally, I think the suits look far better when they're form-fitting, and I don't know why, but the whole rig feels far more stable and secure when everything is nice and snug.

I leave *just* enough room to be able to move comfortably and then I cinch the belt as tight as I can get it. Everything feels solid and in place, and I can take my mind off of it and just have fun.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Thanks Doug for the feedback. When I wear mine, it feels like the the cartoons "I'm a nekkid guy that's wearing the empty barrel with suspenders" feeling.

[dougefresh]

Thanks Doug for the feedback. When I wear mine, it feels like the the cartoons "I'm a nekkid guy that's wearing the empty barrel with suspenders" feeling.

 

I know what you're saying-- you feel like a spoon, clangin' around in a coffee cup.

[kevster[TK]]

Ya, i was wondering about this too, and now that has been answered, is there a top and bottom to the kidney plate? it looks like if you hold it flat, there is a curve to it, the outsides curving away from the body while the middle is pushed in to the body slightly, and it looks like one side is flared out a little more than the other, or does it not really matter?

 

Here, the right side looks like it is flared out more while the left side is pretty strait, the middle measures 6.5" wide and the edges measure 7.75" wide and i'm not counting the return edges,so is the right side of the pic the top side?

 

[dougefresh]

It narrows from top to bottom.

The widest edge is the top.

[Jag[TK]]

I stand at a massive 5'4" weighing in at a 135lbs with a 32 in waist. Luckily the thighs seem to fit fine, but I too have the problem of feeling like I'm wearing a white plastic barrel with suspenders when it comes to the abs/kidney/butt panels. I've had to paint my armor so I'm STILL waiting for the darn paint to harden before doing more work. I've done a lot of snap work and I'm loathing having to cut the armor down to fit around the waist. A major problem is when snugging the belt down the abs/kidney/butt panels squirt out every which way since there is nothing for the belt to compress against but a shell.

 

Has anyone tried to pad out the inside of the armor around the waist? I know it's done for the other armor pieces to prevent sliding/twisting. I'm considering trying to pad the inside around the abs/kidney/butt so I fill out the suit better. No cutting. BUT, I'm concerned about the pads making heat an issue.

 

As a prowl the boards I have only seen details posted on extending the armor that doesn't fit. If anyone has advice or experience putting more "junk in the trunk" to make a suit fit better, I'd appreciate it

[TK8700[501st]]

I was thinking 'bout the PP foam they ship electronic appliances with. You can velcro that inside the Abs and they oughta work. I use the same concept for my forearms. Was about to suggest this to a new trooper in my garrison too.

[TK-7980]

If you watch my youtube video of me playing Wii sports I have mine to be form fitting as well.

(although I need to trim it some more... I still have overlap! )

[Jag[TK]]

@Doug, I too have an absence of a caboose. I need to work on making sure my armor is configured right when placing the belt. My butt plate does seem huge (it's not my body! ) The network of suspenders and elastic makes this a challenge. Using a heat gun still gives me nightmares (or little to no change, frayed nerves and burnt fingertips). The darn paint on the armor is still soft enough for me to dent with a fingernail, so I must wait longer. SIGH.

 

@all, thanks for the advice. if anyone else has advice/opinion chime in plz.

[dougefresh]

The heat gun scares me too.

 

This will sound idiotic, but it worked. I bent the butt plate into the shape I wanted, forced it to hold the curve with some masking tape, and then left it sitting on one of the heat registers in my house for a week.

 

I built the kit over X-mas break a couple years ago, and was sitting next to one of the furnace vents sanding... the dumb idea leaped into my head, and I figured "sure, it's stupid, but why not give it a shot?" . Totally ghetto solution, but it seemed to do the trick.

[Jag[TK]]

Totally ghetto solution...

 

In my quest for build advice I've found MANY suggestions that were innovative, efficient, and completely un-reproducible by me Lack of equipment, materials, and/or friends that do are my ever present foes Costuming is not for those who can't learn to color outside the lines, that's for sure. I have had to learn to seek the point of good advice and not mourn not having a key something or other, say, like a furnace Your point is gentle heat, "framing" the piece into the shape, and being patient Picked that up all by myself after reading it three times

 

Living in So. California, we've no clue on what real weather is :headphone: Weather conditions that climb over 80F or drop below 70F is just shy of a disaster state here Stressing about whether or not to wear long pants or put on shoes really ruins the day. And the Lord knows that when this thing called "rain" happens (wet stuff falling out of the sky) our driving skills suddenly drop towards zero

[darren1970[501st]]

I origionally left a lot of plastic on the abs/kidney too, but I've since taken off the excess.

 

I do have a big ol' posterior, so didn't need to bend in the butt plate.

 

Breath in at the start of the troop, breath out again at the end

[dougefresh]

Breath in at the start of the troop, breath out again at the end

 

You got that right. There's an audible hiss when I take off the armor and my gut snaps back into normal form... sounds like a city bus hittin' the brakes.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I've heated up my armor many times in areas that need adjustment with a heat gun with no major problems yet (knock on wood). The key is patience and getting a feel for what the gun can do. I’d suggest practicing on some plastic scraps before heating your armor if you haven’t done it before.

 

I’ll do an FAQ / Tutorial on this as it seems to be asked often, but here’s some tips that might help:

 

They keys are:

- Wear some cheap cotton gloves / work gloves. Protects your fingers from the heat and helps avoid plastic “pinches”.

 

- Use the lowest heat setting (if you’re buying a heat gun, get one with high and low temps. High is just too high for plastic use).

 

- Keep the gun about 6-8 inches above the plastic. Too close and you’ll end up with hot spots resulting in some areas being softer, and some harder.

 

- Keep the gun moving! Avoid holding it in one spot. Again, this will result in one spot turning to pudding, and the area next to it staying hard.

 

- Heat an area that’s bigger than what you want to bend / influence. The reason why you want to do this is so that you don’t end up with a sharp kink, you want a smooth progressive bend over an area (generally speaking for large areas on armor)

 

- Bending: I find it’s easier to hold what you want to bend (say you want to make the butt smaller) and bend the hip a little more than the position you want it to ultimately be, then start heating the area. This is better than heating an area, then rushing to bend it.

You’ll feel lots of resistance in the plastic at first (it wants to stay straight, but you’re holding it in the shape you want), but as you heat it the resistance will be less.

You only need to heat it for a couple seconds more than this, then while still holding the butt, turn the gun off and put it aside. Use your extra hand to support the butt / bent area and let it cool. As it cools, the plastic will harden.

 

- If the bend is not enough, repeat the steps above. Remember, it’s better to bend the same piece 3 times and bending a little more as you need, rather than 1 big bend that might result in a kink or over bending.

 

- Don’t rush, take your time!

[TK:TK]

Thanks, guys! What a great idea for a modification. I've tweaked just about every other part of the suit - just never occurred to me that I could tweak the a$$ plate. I'll give it a try.

 

I like the armour as snug as possible. It's counter intuitive, but the more snug the armour, the less cumbersome it feels.